HTC launches 'Uh-Oh' protection against water damage or cracked screen

HTC wants to make its smartphones more desirable. Apart from being the industry best-in-class when it comes to design, the Taiwanese company is also offering a one-time replacement for a cracked screen, water damage or a carrier change.

The new ‘Uh-Oh Protection’ scheme follows a similar warranty plan called HTC Advantage, allowing users to send the HTC One M8 to a store and have it fixed for just a small postage fee.

It is even offering $100 (£67) towards the next HTC smartphone, if there is no damage claims in the first 12 months of usage. That could be lucrative for owners that take good care of their smartphones, even though it does mean sticking to HTC for another year.

The HTC One M9 will be the only smartphone under this plan, meaning customers with older Desire or One devices will not be able to get free warranty on their smartphone.

Before getting your hopes up, it is only available in the US for now. HTC has not detailed any plans to offer this protection outside of the United States, similar to its response last year when customers from the UK and Europe asked if they could get similar protection.

To get the new protection, HTC has a phone number in the US for handling the arrangements. If the phone is broke, simply send it to HTC, they will charge a flat sum of $300 (£200) to make sure you aren't pulling a fast one, and then refund once the phone is sent back to the owner.